GRAM X S.N.S.

Written by: Sneaker FreakerAugust 25, 2008

Don’t get it twisted, this isn’t a Gram colab with Sneakersnstuff, this is a Gram colab with Danish knitwear brand S.N.S. With a clever marketing ploy for both brands, S.N.S. have designed laces exclusively for Gram footwear that correspond with the knitwear’s new winter jumper range. Talk about matching heaven!

In the city of Herning on the Danish island of Jutland lies the knitting mill of S.N.S. Squeezed in between two giant flatbeds on the factory floor stands an old shoelace machine all but forgotten, this collaboration is the story of how it came back to life, and how 250 pairs of handmade wool laces came about. S.N.S. x gram laces will premier exclusively at Solo Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm from September, and later be available through selected stores worldwide for a limited time only. Price €13.99.

The brand S.N.S. Herning was founded by Soren Nielsen Skyt (1899 – 1972). As a young man he made a living selling knitted garments on the moor of central Jutland, Denmark. In the early 1920’s he learned about a way of handknitting sweaters with ”bubbles” that could serve as insulation. Impressed by these techniques he set out to have the newly appearing knitting machines make the same. He knew the fisherman off the Danish west coast were in need of wollen sweaters to help them bear the rough weather at sea. In 1931 he succeeded in making a sweater that would serve this purpose, today world renowned as the Fisherman’s Sweater.

To this day, S.N.S. Herning knits are crafted in the same old manor and style by using the old original machinery. Production is very limited, and as a nod to this fact , every item is signed in hand by the artisan who made it. S.N.S. is sold in the most prestigious stores in the world, among others Loveless in Tokyo and Barneys New York, they also have an ongoing collaboration with legendary Comme de Garcons. Only 250 pairs of laces have been developed, with all colour blending and production done by Anna Stenvi of Gram, on site in Herning, Denmark, under the watchful eye of Soren Skyt, Head of S.N.S. Thinking outside the shoe box, so to speak, props go to gram on this innovative collaboration.